It wasn’t Chris Evans’s head-spinning pay packet that did it. Surprise, surprise, he made more than £2million. His over-value has long since ceased being a shock to anyone.

We’ve become inured to bloated blowhards. Just as predictable was Gary Lineker’s or Graham Norton’s. Their true value is impossible to calculate by ratio so they’re paid the market rate for high-profile “talent”. Irritating, yeah. Shocking, nah.

It was Derek Thompson’s entry on the BBC list of 96 best-paid employees that really got my dander up. Derek who? Well you may ask.

Better known as Charlie from Casualty, apparently, and earning somewhere between £350,000 and £399,000 for the privilege.

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You know the guy…he’s the middle-aged bloke with the hangdog expression. Every single time I stumble over an episode of Casualty, I wonder why on earth he’s still there, sullenly changing IV drips, after 30 years.

And now we know why he has no concern over being typecast. For that kind of money, I too would dress as nurse Charlie Fairhead and snog nurse Duffy.

And that is bad enough. But it turns out Amanda Mealing, his female counterpart on Holby City, makes around £100,000 less.

Derek Thompson earns £350,000 and £399,000 for his role as Charlie from Casualty. (Image: BBC)

Then it was Stephen Nolan’s entry that further got my dander up. He’s a BBC Northern Ireland host who styles himself as a bit of a shock-jock but is pretty much unknown outwith the province. He appears in the £400,000 to £450,000 category.

So where, we wonder, is the BBC Scotland talent, stalwarts such as Jackie Bird and Sally Magnusson? They don’t appear on the list of those earning £150,000 or more.

We could – and should – argue about the absolute figures being doled out. Clearly, a serious dose of reality check is required.

And Clare Balding’s sub-£200,000 doesn’t come within a nose of Lineker’s £2million.

On EastEnders, Danny Dyer gets between £200,000 and £250,000 while Letitia Dean manages just £150,000 to £199,999.

I see Peter Capaldi got around £250,000 for Doctor Who. But we have to wonder what the first female Doctor, Jodie Whittaker, will get. And who would be in the least surprised if the man tipped to be her assistant – BBC golden boy Kris Marshall – ends up with the lesser role but the greater salary.

Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi earned £250,000 for the lead role.

But what will his female successor Jodie Whittaker earn? (Image: PA)

These are not voiceless, choiceless women. Most will have agents, many will have large egos and they’re all fortunate to be very well paid. They have access to power in a way us ordinary types just don’t.

Yet even they’re being sold down the river. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they just downed tools, stormed off the sets and formed a picket line at TV headquarters?

They could be the start of an equal pay revolution that spreads through the nation from the studio to the shopfloor and beyond.

Now there’s a worthwhile drama. And the BBC have practically written the script.